Family University Path
Wind turbine
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In front of you, you see a wind turbine. Wind turbines generate electricity that we need, for example, for electrical appliances such as the electric kettle or the hair dryer. As the word "wind turbine" already describes, the power of the wind is used for this purpose. The energy of the wind was already used many hundreds of years ago. However, not to generate electricity, but to draw water or grind flour.
Imagine you are at the top of the wind turbine: there are three rotor blades (forming the
rotor) that resemble wings. The wind sets them in motion. In the nacelle of the wind turbine there is a so-called generator, which produces electric current through the energy of the wind. Generators work like bicycle dynamos. At the top, there is also an anemometer, which measures the wind speed, and a wind vane, which shows the wind direction. As you can see, wind turbines are very tall. The reason is that the wind blows much stronger up there.
Good to know:
Wind turbines are an environmentally friendly way to generate electricity. Wind is considered a renewable energy source because wind will always blow and cannot be used up, so to speak. Quite the opposite of non-renewable energy sources such as coal or oil. These raw materials are only available in limited quantities in the world and, in addition, coal and oil power plants emit CO2, which wind turbines do not.
The wind turbine that you can see in the parking lot of the university at the Emden campus belongs to the university and has been there since the mid-1990s. The wind turbine diligently supplies part of the university with electricity. In addition, there is a separate laboratory for wind power, where wind turbines are researched.
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